Tag Archives: Abdul Mateen

Kashish Aziz: The woman behind quality control in Unicure India

DELHI :

Dr Kashish Aziz

The global recognition of the Indian pharmaceutical industry is not limited to its biggest companies. Numerous manufacturers across the country have built successful businesses while contributing to India’s reputation as the “pharmacy of the world.” Unicure India Ltd. is one such company, with Dr. Kashish Aziz playing a key role in operations and quality assurance.

Unicure India has manufacturing facilities in Noida, Greater Noida and Roorkee across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. According to CRISIL, the company is a WHO-GMP-approved and ISO-certified pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Dr Kashish Aziz at an event

A significant portion of its business comes from government entities and contract manufacturing for major pharmaceutical brands. Based on CRISIL’s assessment from March 2025, around 60 per cent of the company’s revenue came from government entities, 30–35 per cent from contract manufacturing, and the remainder from exports. GST-based business data for 2025-26 places the company in the annual turnover bracket of ₹100 crore to ₹500 crore.

Born in Delhi in 1987, Dr. Kashish Aziz currently serves as Vice President of Quality at Unicure India Ltd. Her professional journey has been shaped by both academic excellence and personal challenges.

Passionate about science from childhood, Aziz aspired to become a doctor. She completed her schooling at Delhi Public School in 2004 before joining Jamia Hamdard in Delhi, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pharmacy. She received a gold medal from then President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam for her academic performance.

Dr Kashish Aziz at an event

She received her early education at Delhi Public School, completing her schooling in 2004. She then pursued a Bachelor of Pharmacy (B.Pharm) from Jamia Hamdard University. Later, she completed a Master’s in Pharmaceutics with specialisation in Quality Assurance.

For her outstanding performance, she was awarded a gold medal by the then President of India, the late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam.

She subsequently completed her PhD in Pharmaceutics and received the “INSPIRE Fellowship” from the Department of Science and Technology. She is regarded as a specialist in Quality Assurance and is also recognised as a technologist.

She is currently pursuing an MBA from IIM Lucknow. She is also a member and secretary of the FOPIE Youth Wing and a member of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA).

Dr Kashish Aziz with her father Abdul Mateen

She later completed a PhD in Pharmaceutics after receiving the Inspire Fellowship from the Department of Science and Technology. She also specialises in quality assurance.

Her journey was not without difficulties. Married at the age of 20 in 2007, Aziz gave birth to her first child at 21, around the same time she began her master’s course in Pharmaceutics with a specialisation in quality assurance.

“I was married in 2007 at the age of 20. I gave birth to my first child but at the age of 21, the same time I joined my course of Masters (Master in Pharmaceutics with specialisation in QA),” she said.

Dr Kashish Aziz being honoured

On her husband’s advice, she initially kept her studies hidden from her in-laws. When they eventually learned about it, she faced strong opposition. Determined to build a career, she later joined her father, Abdul Mateen, at Unicure India’s Noida unit.

For Aziz, quality in pharmaceutical manufacturing is not merely a regulatory requirement but the foundation of business credibility. Her responsibilities include quality assurance, monitoring production processes, validation and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

“Quality is never accidental; it is always the result of high intention, conscientious effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution,” she says.

Dr Kashish Aziz speaking at a public function

She has a simple message for her team: “Only a healthy horse can pull a strong cart. So my consistent message to the UniQure team is either stick to quality or quit.”

The emphasis on quality is particularly important in pharmaceutical manufacturing, where the quality of every batch is directly linked to patient safety. Raw materials and finished products therefore undergo testing and monitoring at multiple stages. Unicure also highlights a safe manufacturing environment, contamination-prevention infrastructure and dedicated storage facilities for sensitive and toxic substances.

According to the company’s website, Unicure employs more than 600 professionals, including around 100 people in highly skilled technical roles. Its business spans manufacturing, supply and exports of pharmaceutical products.

Dr Kashish Aziz at an event

The company operates in a highly competitive market where manufacturers must control costs without compromising quality. Raw material prices, supply-chain management, regulatory compliance and production capacity all influence performance.

Aziz believes that cost control should never come at the expense of quality. Lean manufacturing, automation and improved systems, she argues, can help increase efficiency and production capacity while maintaining standards.

Unicure also has a presence in international markets. Available global trade data records 703 export shipments to 39 buyers and 24 import shipments from nine suppliers. Pharmaceutical products under HSN codes 3004 and 3003 have been the primary drivers of its export activity.

Dr Kashish Aziz

The company’s imports also highlight the importance of raw materials and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) to pharmaceutical manufacturing. Fluctuations in global supply chains, raw material prices and logistics costs can significantly affect production expenses, making efficient inventory management, automation and quality control increasingly important.

As India strengthens its position in the global pharmaceutical supply chain, companies such as Unicure will need to balance government business, contract manufacturing and exports while maintaining stringent quality standards.

For Aziz, that balance is central to the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing—and to the credibility of the industry itself.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz, The Voice / Home> Stories> Muslim Women in Corporate / by Onika Maheshwari, New Delhi / August 24th, 2026

BENFA: Changing Lives

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Bengaluru-based BENFA helping poor people.

Bengaluru :

AS they say – think individually, act globally – BENFA is doing just that. BENFA (Bengaluru Friends Alliance) was born with the common goal and the collective efforts of a group of doctors to help the underprivileged section of society. The organization extends financial help to the poor and helps them overcome their financial hurdles in education and healthcare.

Talking about the organization Dr. Saleem Mehkri, Vice President and Trustee, said, “We were already into helping poor Muslim population with their education and health issues.

Then, it was planned by Dr. Suhel Pasha to establish an umbrella organization to facilitate their charity works on a large scale. The organization primarily addresses a large number of poor Muslims and deserving non-Muslims, too.”

Dr. Suhel Pasha, President, BENFA, said, “Twenty percent of the city’s population lives in slums with the lowest standard of education, inefficient healthcare, lack of necessities, and most importantly low standard of living. Even today, one-third of the slum dwellers fall below the poverty line with an income of less than Rs. 2500 per month. So, to help these poor populations, BENFA was established in October 2020.”

BENFA is a registered charitable trust focusing on education, healthcare, and socio-economic empowerment of underprivileged parts of society. How BENFA assists in empowering the disadvantaged? Answered Abdul Mateen, BENFA General Secretary, “We have recently launched a micro-credit scheme to provide loans to the deserving women and men to start their small trades. The loans we give are free of interest. So, they have to return only the principal loan amount without any interest.”

Dr. Saleem informed, “We have launched schemes not only to empower poor men and women financially, but we also aim to empower them through adult education schemes. We provide education and training to unemployed youngsters/adults as per their skills and help them get government or private jobs. We have helped students to pay their fees and paid hospital bills too.”

According to Dr. Saleem, around five people are benefitted every week through their microcredit scheme. So, how does the organization arrange its finances? Replied Dr. Saleem, “We have around 500 members, including 400 male members and 100 female members, who voluntarily contribute and help run the organization successfully. Nobody is forced to contribute.”

Besides these programmes, BENFA actively distributes rations during Eid-Ul-Fitr, performs Qurbani/sacrifices during Eid-Al-Adha, and distributes meat amongst low-income families. Furthermore, BENFA has several groups focusing on different areas, namely-BEEP for education, BHCP for healthcare, BSSP for socio-economic support, BMCS for microcredit schemes, and BALP for adult learning programs.

That is not all. BENFA is slowly and steadily adding more to its activities for the betterment of society. Lately, in collaboration with the field experts, BENFA has organized several webinars related to health and education topics. Pointed out to Dr. Suhel, “We organized webinars to educate people on several issues that focus on health, education, amongst others. We also organize career counselling for youth. We invite experts to address the relevant topics.”

BENFA also played an active role amidst the raging COVID 19 by supplying oxygen to the patients. As Dr. Pasha said, “We supplied oxygen cylinders during COVID 19 and spread awareness regarding the vaccine and also organized a webinar to help people prepare themselves during COVID crisis.”

Dr. Saleem urged people to join the organization as members to extend help to a large number of underprivileged people.

source: http://www.indiatomorrow.net / India Tomorrow / Home> Development> Features / by Rashida Bakait / October 16th, 2021